There is a traditional saying in Turkish culture that if you want to be a good friend with your acquaintance, you need to go on a trip with that person. With this motivation, TCCP organizes several inter-faith and inter-cultural group trips to Turkey each year. Groups of five to ten people enjoy a journey to various cultural, historical and religious sites of different cities, which reflect the cultural diversity of the civilizations that once lived in Anatolia.

The journey begins in Istanbul with a magnificent boat tour in the Bosphorus, the sea separating Europe and Asia. Istanbul is the only city where two continents meet, which made cruising the Bosphorus experience unique. In Istanbul, the tour includes:

• Hagia Sofia – a museum that was once a mosque and church),
• Sultan Ahmed Mosque, a.k.a. Blue Mosque,
• Suleymaniye Mosque – one of architect Sinan’s masterpieces,
• Miniaturk – a recreational park with miniatures of the historical sites in Turkey,
• Topkapi Palace – once the administrative center of the Ottoman Empire,
• Underground Cistern, and
• Grand Bazaar – one of the world’s oldest and largest covered markets.

Our next stop is Izmir, which is located by the Aegean Sea. In Izmir, we travel to the extensive archeological sites of Ephesus, the House of Virgin Mary, the Selcuk Archeological Museum, and the Temple of Artemis.

Another stop is Konya, the city where the 13th century philosopher and poet Rumi lived, composed his writings, and passed away. Konya is also the home of the Whirling Dervishes, who perform Sema as a ritual of remembering God through the form of dance and music. Pittsburghers are familiar with the Sema performance, which was organized by Pittsburgh Dialogue Foundation (PDF) in 2004 and 2007.

Near the Mediterranean city of Antalya, we visit the ruins of a Roman amphitheater at Aspendos, and the remains of the Temple of Athena and Apollo from the Pax Romana period at Side. Cappadocia is another one of the highlights of central Turkey, where we  visit the Goreme Open Air Museum, underground cities, fairy chimneys, and live demonstrations of pottery-making.

Some pictures from the 2007 Dialogue Trip can be found at the photo gallery.